NationStates Jolt Archive

Here are my points:
gunpowder...................3
some iron....................2
some coal....................2
abundant timber............3
some canals.................3
paved highways.............3
Military Shipyard...........8
small army................-15
large navy..................20
veteran line marines......6
74-gun SOTL................12
Schooners.....................7
Frigates........................4
Overall better crews.......4

As a result of these, I have a pretty awesome economy, with the ability to provide for all my raw material military needs, and do some exporting. I also have significantly average infrastructure.

The Caladonnian army is pretty much nonexistent. I have some garrison troops in the homeland, and quite good marines on ships (considered part of the navy), but that's it.

The Caladonnian navy is the most powerful in the world, with a larger navy than the rest of the nations combined. That's about it for now... I'll post government info and such later.

Government Information
Conventional Long Form: The Imperial Republic of Caladonn
Conventional Short Form: Caladonn
Government Type: Republic
Capital: Calad
Head of State: Prime Minister William Pitt
Head of Government: Grand Admiral Horatio Nelson

Social Information:
Population: 10 million
Languages: English (Official), Gaelic, Welsh
Religions: (Not determined)

Military Information:

The Imperial Navy:
Total Ships: 1,000
Types of Ships (Men per ship in parentheses):
Ship of the Line, 74 guns: 200 (800 men)
Frigates, 22-32 guns: 400 (250 men)
Schooners, 12-20 guns: 400 (100 men)
Naval Personnel: 300,000

Imperial Marine Uniforms (Courtesy of Ansu): http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/Verghastinsel/Clan%20Ansu/CaladonnMarine.jpg

it had been roughly two weeks. Jonothan was no longer sure of exactly how many days it had been, a lot of them blured into each other. still, here he was on the fore-deck of the HMS Divisor, about to enter port in the Caladonnian capital city of Calad.

much responcibility rested on his sholders now. well, his and the Admiral's.

such was the state of Angermanland's navy that the Admiral Brinden was pulling double duty as captain of the ship as well. all the relivant flags were displayed... diplomatic, national, and so on. to his eyes the ship looked unuseualy ... colourful.

on the other hand, it's crew were the useual sorry looking lot, no real standardiseation of cloathing or equipment, enough diciplin to keep the ship running and no more... typical of Angerman's navy, sadly, and little could be done about it at this point.

a final turn, and the ship was lined up and ready to enter the harbour.

Calad was unusual among the cities of Caladonn. Its good harbor and coastal location assured that it was easily as large as the most sprawling of the other trading centers, but Calad was something of a relic of a far earlier era.

It was this outmoded grandeur that had brought the Imperial Senate to choose Calad as their capital. High, sloping white walls rose, tier upon tier, to a great tower overlooking the city, and beyond that the harbor and sea. Calad was already as large many centuries ago as the other great urban centers of Caladonn are now; thus, in a more dangerous time, when the invincible 'Walls of Wood' didn't protect the city, more mundane fortifications had to suffice.

Despite its apparent obsolescence, Calad was truly a sight to behold. However, Edmund MacIntyre, of the elite Citadel Guard, was little concerned with the splendid, panoramic view that was arrayed before him as he stood on the highest turret of the Great Tower; he had seen it every day for many years, since his promotion from the marines.

No, what interested Guardsman MacIntyre was the strange ship that had appeared over the horizon. It was like few he had ever seen; clicking his telescope open, he could make out bright flags festooning the ship, but rather shoddy craftsmanship. Besides that, it was traveling jerkily back and forward in a diseased manner... no Caladonnian captain, no matter how low, would have his ship in such a state.

Well, maybe the entire crew is drunk... or asleep... the Guardsman thought to himself. As a maritime Caladonnian, he would probably be doubled over with laughter at this point, save that he was carrying a musket and was rather bored. Ah, no, I should have known better... it's a foreigner. But what kind? I wouldn't trust an Incognitian to be that negligent... and an Osteian wouldn't be so far from home... Then he realized it, and would have clapped his hand to his head, had he not been holding a telescope, and doing so would involve dropping it several hundred feet. Of course! An Angermandij ship!

Thoroughly roused from his reverie, he energetically hauled on the flagstaff, bringing a string of signals to flutter under the Caladonnian green and silver. "Ship in sight... A-n-g-e-r-m-a-n (There was no individual signal for this)"

The message was intercepted by several of the patrol frigates in the Outer Harbor. Two were delegated to go out and meet the vessel.

OOC: Sorry if I dissed your navy too much...

"IDIOTS! IMBICILES! FOOLS! surely you can at least do it Right, if not fast or well. good God! can you not tell the difference between f'r'ard and aft? gah! YOU!" the admiral caught up to the sub officer who had relayed the order incorrectly

"how the HELL did you get to be an officer?"

"lack of volenteers, sir"

"good God! hopefully this trip will be worth it" so saying, he grabed the unfrotunate man by collar and belt, and heaved him over the side.

the Only thing the Angerman navy had in it's favour was that if you couldn't swim, you weren't allowed to set foot on a ship in any capacity save as passengers or baggage. they had enough other problems without loseing the few men they did have who could do the jobs at least pasibly drowing by accident.

the result of this was that the man came bobbing back to the surface fairly quickly, and swum over to the small boat towed behind the ship.

"AND YOU!" the Admiral came accross thsoe men who had made things worse "you couldn't possibly have missunderstood 'Stop! Tie Off' could you?"
"uhh.... dunno, sir. didn't hear nuthin'"
"YEARGH!" more splashes as the Admiral's campagine of dunkings continued "Fools! Drunkards! Idiots! if i can hire a crew of bloody STREET SWEAPERS here to take the ship back home, i'll leave you all behind! DUNDERHEADS!" Splash, Splash, Splash"

"umm, Admiral?"
"DAMNIT, Mr Jonothan, what is it?"
"err, well, we're headed into the harbour here, and i can't help but notice various frigates comeing towards us, so it might, perhaps, be wise to keep some of the crew On the ship?"
"bah. should keelhaul the lot of the. but you're right." he turned "A'right you lot, DO YOUR BLOODY JOBS! bring the ship to a full stop. we'll wait and see what these fine sailors in their nice big warships have to say to us!"

The two Frigates bore down on the Angerman "warship"; Captain Pellew, of the larger 32-gun ship, mounted his quarterdeck with a speaking trumpet, and shouted to the foreign vessel, "Sir, you appear to be having some trouble... would you care for a tow into shore? I assure you my crew are fully competent..."

As if to demonstrate this, the Caladonnian frigates took another reef in perfect unison, and hove to exactly five cable's lengths apart from each other, in long cannon shot of the Angermen.

However, some crewmen were unable to participate, due to massive bouts of laughter at seeing the Angerman admiral haul his own men overboard. They were confined below until the ships were riding easily.

"Good Lord, YES!" Brinden couldn't decide weither to be embarased, enraged, or just releaved at that point.

the ambasidor was in full agreement.

Captain Pellew sighed in a combination of pleasure at showing off the Imperial Navy's prowess, and disgust at the sheer bumbling of the Angermen. "Very well, then, Lieutenant Bowles," he said. "I don't trust those landsmen to catch your hawser adequately- take ten men and the launch, and sway out a cable to their vessel. Mr. Kennedy! Take charge of the capstan, get the marines pushing to get that cable over the side."

Both officers saluted smartly, and rapidly strode off, issuing orders. A matter of minutes later, a Caladonnian longboat was bobbing its way towards the Angerman vessel, crewed by ten sailors rowing in expert strokes. Lieutenant Bowles stood in the stern, shouting to the Angermen, "Greetings, I have been sent by Captain Pellew with ten men to assure that the line is recieved safely!"

Meanwhile, the marines at the capstan started work, their blue jackets streaked with sweat as they heaved on the capstan, letting out a heavy rope that was held be two men in the stern of Bowles's boat.

"at this point" Brinden replied "i can't even bring myself to be insulted by this. good Lord. just my luck that the only ship available for an urgent diplomatic dispatch that i have to go with personaly would be this one!

our navy as a whole might not be great, but this lot are just idiots. do what needs doing. you've got the run of the ship, so long as you don't try and sink us or anything i'll give you authority over everyone bar myself and the ambasidor to get what needs doing to get us docked, done. and i don't care if the lot of you are unranked seamen, you're still probilby better than this lot."

so saying, the admiral stalked off to his caben.

Lieutenant Bowles raised his eyebrows at coming aboard in such a cavalier manner. No sideboys, no marine presentation of arms... ah well, with what the Angerman navy had shown itself to be, he unfortunately wasn't in the least surprised.

He strode to the quarterdeck, saluting perfunctorily (and a touch ironically) to the Angerman "admiral," saying, "Greetings, First Lieutenant Bowles of the Imperial Caladonnian Frigate Indefatigable."

The Caladonnian officer's eyebrows cranked up a notch at the flaming tirade the Angerman gave- but he simply nodded, and got to work. It would have been possible to sail the ship into land, but he didn't dare do it with only ten men, and obviously the Angerman landlubbers weren't going to be much help.

About ten minutes later, the Caladonnian sailors had flogged their Angerman "counterparts" into doing the grunt work of hauling the cable on board. Then, the Lieutenant afixed it to the bow, and with a signal to the Indefatigable, they were off.

Around half an hour later (the other Frigate having had to take in sail to keep pace with the Indefatigable, towing the Angermen), the three ships were adequately docked. The Angermen had stared in awe at the vast fleet arrayed in the inner harbor; fully a hundred ships, in for repairs, reprovisioning, leave, etc. The Angerman officers didn't believe Bowles's words when he told them this was just a tenth of the Imperial Fleet, but then again considering their earlier "performance," it was unsurprising.

Several of the Angerman sailors jumped overboard seeing the ship and the dock near each other at high speeds, but in the nick of time the few Caladonnian sailors heaved the rope, and the ship came to a standstill. The Angermen had to be pulled out of the waters by grinning Caladonnians, while passersby gawked and laughed.

After this took place, Captain Pellew came aboard the Angerman ship, to inform the Angerman top officials that they could come out of their cabin. He knocked on the door, brushing down his uniform, saying, "Welcome to Caladonn, sirs (He was always taught that respect is the proper medium, even to such as these). May I convey my congratulations to you on a relatively safe voyage, and inform you that your men are drying off nicely. In addition, the Imperial Senate has requested your appearance tomorrow. Now, I must attend to my ship. I have left a picket of marines at the gangplank, to assure that your men do not run amok in town. Good day, gentlemen."

"well" said Jonothan as the Caladonnian left "glad that's overwith."

"indeed." was the responce, as Brinden poored a good messure of wine for each of them "i ment what i said about hireing street sweepers, too. first opertunity, i'm discharging them, dishonerably, and prefurably HERE, rather than taking them back home.

maybe i can hire some Caladonnians as crew for the trip back. we won't be fighting if we can help it, after all. heck, if everything goes right, perhaps we can leave this whole crew and ship to make their own way and ride back on a Caladonnian ship! that'd be nice."

"indeed. i dread to think what would have happend had we hit bad weather on the way over"

"ach, aye, that doesn't bear thinking about. well, guess we get to go see the Imperial Senate tommorow then, whatever that is."

"much like our house of representatives, i'm lead to belive, only running the executive and possibly judiciary as well, and with no king."

"oh, to hell with it, i'm going to bed."

"it's mid afternoon."

"fine. i'm getting drunk. THEN i'm going to bed!" so saying, the admiral poured himself another glass.

The marines saluted as, right after dawn, a uniformed Caladonnian official made his way down the quays, and signaled the intent to board the Angerman vessel. They parted their bayonets and he walked through down the gangplank, accompanied by two men of the picket, to ensure the cooperation of the "crew."

He banged on the door to the Captain's cabin, shouting, "The Imperial Senate requires your attendance in fifteen minutes at the Citadel. I will wait onshore, and expect your presence within five minutes."

He then left the ship, nearly falling through a rotting section of woodwork, to take refuge on the quay.

the Admiral had actually been up for some hours, having gone to bed very early, and as such was no longer in the least hung-over. infact, he had been writing various notes, letters, and so on required for the discharge and/or execution for the bulk of the crew.

the Caladonnian was, in some ways, lucky he had left so quickly, 'else he might have had a ledger flying in his direction hit him rather than the bulkhead behind where he had been standing moments before.

the admiral, it appeared, was not a happy camper.


still, both Jonothan and Brinden were presant and ready to meet with the senate within minutes. Brinden in full Angerman naval uniform, black jacket, boots and pants, with a blue roll neck shirt, rank and unit badges on sholder and thigh (in this case, the unit badge was simply an anchor on a sail), and a single blue band around each cuff.

Jonothan simply wore formal civilian cloathing, as befit his positon. it was he who spoke "we are ready to leave as soon as is possible."

The Caladonnian, Felix Wingham, the Assistant Undersecretary to one of the junior Senators, stoppped for a moment at the sound of the ledger striking the deck a few inches behind him, but decided, for the moment, to think of it as a slip of the hand.

When the Angermen were ready, he nodded perfunctorily, and led the way up through the streets to the Citadel, two marines falling in step beside them and the rest remaining at their post.

When the party finally came through the highest gate, and were greeted by the awe-inspiring sight of the Great Tower, Assistant Undersecretary Wingham said, "I must attend to my duties now. You should report to the Senatorial Office." He strode off.

Jonothan blinked a few times.

"is it just me, or are these folks Really unprofessional when it comes to dealing with guests and forigen dignitorys?"

"don't know, don't care, and if it weren't so important to his majesty's plans, i'd simply ditch the crew, hire a new one, and go home at this point."

"true. shall we see about finding this office?"

Brinden simply gruntted.

Jonothan blinked a few times.

"is it just me, or are these folks Really unprofessional when it comes to dealing with guests and forigen dignitorys?"

"don't know, don't care, and if it weren't so important to his majesty's plans, i'd simply ditch the crew, hire a new one, and go home at this point."

"true. shall we see about finding this office?"

Brinden simply gruntted.
"No, we just don't take kindly to having things thrown at our officials. Good day to you." The Marine Corporal said, and he and his companion returned to the docks.

After a bit of searching thoruhg the main entrance, the Angerman representatives located the Senatorial Office. From here, the Angermen could just hear the sound of speeches going on within the Great Hall, and a grand doorway guarded by two Marine Guardsmen obviously led into that chamber.

A Caladonnian official, of higher rank than the one they met earlier but still certainly not a Senator, approached them. "Welcome to the Senatorial Office; I presume you wish to address the Senate? May I inquire whether you have an appointment?"

Jonothan, as diplomat and ambasidor, replied, "not so much an appointment as an urgent dispatch from the King of Angermanland. not so urgent, i hope, that we cannot wait a small while if nessicary, but not something that should be left for days without attention.

though given that the senate requested our presance before we had the chance to request an audiance, it would not surprise me if we have an appointment as well."

The Official nodded, and checked a roll of paper, saying, "Ah, yes, the ambassadors from Angermanland... the Senate is currently in full debate, but I believe they will have time for you after the noon break."

Brinden finaly lost it compleatly.

"GOOD GOD! first that fool comes crashing and banging and yelling around in my ship without even being announced, then this bloody band of posturing peacocks REQUIRES us, US, mind, foriegn ambasidors and high officials just barely arived, to be here in a space of time that would be impossible to achive were we not already ready, and now we must WAIT FOR THEM?

By all that's holy, i HOPE a deal with these mongrals is worth it to the King, because at this point if i had my way and the resorces, i would be putting artillary shells into the whole damn place!!!!"

Jonothan winced at this verbal barrage, and sincearly hopped the admiral wouldn't start throwing people again. it would be... even less helpful than his current rant, at this point.

The adjoining Senate Chamber, where a speech by the Prime Minister regarding foreign policy had been going on, suddenly got very, very quiet. The Caladonnian official, shaking with fear, crept off down the hallway, while sweat broke out on the foreheads of the guardsmen, and they tensed in position.

"Enter the Senate chamber!" shouted a very loud voice, as Guardsmen began stiffly to open the great doors.

"you WILL stay out here, Brinden. we don't need another of those explosions now!" Jonothan was begining to lose patiance as well, however, he was somewhat more controled than the admiral.

"and before you object, we're not on ship anymore and this is a diplomatic mission." he sighed "try not to cause any more trouble"

with that, he turned on his heal and entered the senate chamber. hopefully he could salvage something from the disaster this trip was rapidly becomeing.

"you WILL stay out here, Brinden. we don't need another of those explosions now!" Jonothan was begining to lose patiance as well, however, he was somewhat more controled than the admiral.

"and before you object, we're not on ship anymore and this is a diplomatic mission." he sighed "try not to cause any more trouble"

with that, he turned on his heal and entered the senate chamber. hopefully he could salvage something from the disaster this trip was rapidly becomeing.
The diplomat entered, but two of the Guardsmen roused themselves from a state of terrified torpor to shoulder the admiral into the room as well, knowing that was who had aroused the Prime Minister's much-vaunted anger. However, once the Angermen were inside, the two Guardsmen exited as quickly as possible, not wishing to be there near the point of the Prime Minister's rage.

When the two Angermen entered the Imperial Senate Chamber, they beheld a sight that would perhaps have been awe-inspiring, were it not now so terrifying.

The fact is, very few architects alive could design a building that would seat one thousand people. Doing so had been a major undertaking, when, hundreds of years ago, the vast Senate Chamber was constructed.

Three tiers of seats rose around the circular room, each with sections for the ten Senators from each district, and hundred from each Province. In the center of the room, a massive pillar, entwined with a spiral staircase, rose up to the second tier. Glass skylights from the domed roof cast their light down onto the man of the hour, Prime Minister William Pitt, standing at the podium atop the pillar.

Every Senator in the room had adopted a cringing posture. The Prime Minister's rage, when aroused, was well-known, and now that rage was most certainly aroused.

Deceptively calm, and barely audible even in the utterly silent room, the voice wafted down from twenty feet above: "Admiral, kindly explain the meaning of this."

now it was Jonothan's turn to cringe. hopefully the Admiral would not make too big a cock-up of this.

"The meaning," spoke Brinden in a voice filled with quiet menace and barely suppressed rage, "is that we were sent by our king to deal with your government on a matter he consideres so urgent that we rode almost without rest from the capital to the coast, which took over a week. upon ariveing at the port, the only ship available to carry us was the oldest in the fleet, with a crew who had a reputation for being truely shocking by the lowest standards one could chose to use to meassure such things, who's captain was absent without leave and is presumed to have deserted. so I then spent almost another week, far from being able to rest, having to captain that damn ship of fools. they then made their biggest foul up Right as we entered your harbour. the general attiude with which your people greeted us was ... poor... but understandable. i even understood why they fealt the need to place guards on the ship. hell, i would have done the same thing if i had any!

however, and this is where my disgust and anger begins to shift focus from the crew and the general situation to your administration, or at least specific members of it, this very morning, the afformentioned marine sentrys and some petty beurocrat who did not even think it polite to give his name, borded what is for the moment My ship, without announcement nor legal documents that would entitle them to do so, and set about beating on doors and yelling, demanding that we, newly arived and barely rested, forigen ambasidors and dignitarys and the like as we are, appear here within 15 minutes. had it not been for the fact that the ambasidor and i had retired early the night before, greatful not to have to be worried aboutthe crew cocking up again, mind, and thus were up early and already mostly prepaired, or had we worn the kind of foppery most in our position would be inclined to, this would have been utterly impossible to achive. not requesting, not informing us that you would apreciate our company, no plesentry, politiness, or even common decency, simply Demanding.

in the following minutes as we made our way here, this man did nothing to redeam himself, and the only sound we heard from the marines was snide remarks as they left. at no point did any of these men see fit to tell us where the office we were to report to was, and so upon ariving at the gates, we were left to find it for ourselves. this used what little of the 15 minutes we were origionaly given was left, and then some.

so, after all this, upon ariving here and presenting ourselves, we were informed that we would have to wait on Your conveniance, and given to understand that this could well be some hours, or at least that was the impression that was conveide.

perhaps you can see why it could be that i lost my temper? in truth, i am quite sure that the vast majority of this assembaly was utterly undeserving of such remarks. and i must admit, given the nature of this assembliy and the chambers, i expected the doors and walls to be significantly thicker.

So. there is your explination. such as it is. and some small apologie, too, though i would argue that myself and the ambasidor are owed several of our own, though probibly mostly by persons not present at this point."

Brinden, much to Jonothan's surprise, actually calmed down rather than winding himself up as he spoke, and proved to be significantly more eloquent, at least in the main, than any would have expected given his performance when dealing with the ship's crew.

ooc: argh! excess of commas! oh well, that's how he's speaking :D

The Prime Minister stared down at this specimen below him. The level of rage between the two men was practically combustible. After giving the Admiral time to share his piece, Mr. Pitt began his response.

The Prime Minister was a powerful speaker. He began his speech quietly, with the same covert anger of his earlier command.

"What urgency and orders you recieve from your government, and the speed with which you allegedly came to burden us with your hospitality, is of no concern to Caladonn or the Imperial Senate. Neither is the state of your navy of concern to Caladonn, and it more than explains whatever welcome you recieved upon coming to our shores.

You, sir, suffer from the highest deficiency of tact on the planet. To come to the world's leading maritime power on a sinking, rotted scow with drunken blatherers for crew and expect a warm, joyous welcome? I have been informed that Caladonnian frigates had to be detached from their duties simply to tow your ship into harbor. Yes, tow."

However, as the speech continued, the Prime Minister's voice rose in volume, so that it could easily be heard even by those in the highest galleries.

"You then promptly proceed to continue in your utter disregard for the obtaining of respect by throwing your own crewmen overboard next to the Caladonnian docks! It is no wonder that our Harbor Commandant ordered a marine guard to be placed on your ship. No vessel from any nation, military or civilian, has ever behaved so badly.

A navy is only as good as its Admiral, it appears.

How dare you speak of the Imperial Caladonnian Government in such a manner! You, who cannot even control your own ship, expect the Caladonnian government to show you respect! I find it admirable that our officials were able to give you a modicum of it, considering your performance."

Further on, the Prime Minister's voice continued to rise, becoming a booming force that echoed throughout the entire vast chamber and focused on the person below him.

"I have no doubt why our official did not inform you that we would appreciate your company, and the simple reason for that is that you have shown yourself to be an irrational barbarian!

As to having to wait for a small amount of time to come to this august body, I am astounded at your massive arrogance in assuming that whatever you have to say, such as indicting Caladonnians and insulting our hospitality, is more important that the affairs of the Imperial Senate! I will have you know that prior to your interruption, I was giving a speech to the assembly regarding Caladonnian policy concerning the Continent. You could hardly have chosen a worse time to make your tirade.

I scoff at your assumption that the Senate and Government of Caladonn is forced to hide from its people in our affairs."

At the finale, Mr. Pitt's voice rose in a massive crescendo, audible no doubt throughout the entire Seventh Tier of Caladonn. However, now it had left its earlier angry tinge, adopting a more wry and mocking tone.

"And lastly, I must congratulate you, sir. You have saved yourself no doubt highly precious hours, which you can now use to throw your inferiors (in rank, if not in aptitude) into harbors. You have bypassed the audience-granting system of the Imperial Senate, barged in on our hallowed debate, and violated the sacred laws involving a guest in a foreign land, much less one on an "important" diplomatic mission.

In short, whatever you wished to accomplish, you have pre-emptively ruined. Go home now, before more of Caladonn is infected with your vile malaise." The Prime Minister pointed a finger at the admiral, as if to indict him further.

After the Admiral had left, he sighed, and addressed the other Angerman present, in a much more reasonable manner, "Of course, the insanity of your partner does not, at least fully, indict you. The Imperial Senate has no qualms regarding Angermanland as a whole, though I hope never to see that particular Angerman again. Thus, we would be willing to see you at a later point.

But now, if you will excuse me, we were in the middle of debate..."

Jonothan was somewhat irate by this point, though he hid it much better than either of the primary players in this exchange

'what stupidity' he thought 'to hold one outburst based mostly upon exhaustion and stress to be the entirity of a man. what argoance to assume that incompitance amongst a small group of low ranking malcontents is sufficiant justification to treat forigen ambasidors, whateve their other roles, as if they were said same fools.'

he simply turned on his heal and left. "bah." not speaking loudly enough for anyone not close to hear, in fact, muttering "i doubt the king will find need of this fool after this. this man, if man he is, is as bad as that foolish Incognitian ambasidor. i can only hope the others do better."

as he muttered to himself he had caught up with the admiral, and the two men were leaving the building all togeather.

"Well, Brinden, foolish, ill advised and otherwise ... bad... as that outburst of yours may have been, it revealed much. i'm not sure what the king will think of it, but i thank you. make the ship ready. we're leaveing."

"a trip not worth the effort then. still. perhaps it will allow me to convince the king that a viable navy is more nessicary. i hope to God that the Osteians are more reasonable." Brinden responded "for what it's worth, i'm sorry i fouled this up for you."

"heh. the memory of watching you throw those fools over the side of the ship more than makes up for it at the personal level, my friend. i shall put what weight i have behind your advice to the king. i only hope no one decides to prevent us leaveing."

"there is still some small hope of hireing a mercenary crew of some sort rather than the rubbish we brought with us... or perhaps as well as them. perhaps they can be raised to the point where their familys wouldn't prefur the tourments of hell than be associated with them."

Jonothan simply nodded, as they walked down the warf to the ship.

Word spread that the Angerman delegates had left the Senate chamber, and were probably departing. They were able to get a mercenary crew under hire, but before they were due to leave, they were approached by an affluent-looking middle-aged man in the street. He said, "Greetings, I hear that you are the delegates from Angermanland. I understand the official negotiations didn't go so well, but I am a merchant, one William Stiles, and I would like to undergo a business contract with your nation.

For instance, I know that Angermanland has highly developed munitions and cannon factories. Caladonn, as you no doubt know, is pre-eminent in maritime affairs and shipbuilding. Thus, perhaps a deal could be arranged.

This might even serve to lessen the hostility between our respective governments, should a mutually beneficial trade deal be decided."

"realy. humm. i think his majesty would be most interested. would you be willing to return with us and speak of it with him directly? ... most of the problems evidant upon our arival have been... fixed. your fine city here has some new street sweepers or what have you, and our navy, such as it is, some few less fools. your own countrymen will be crewing our ship this time. and save for neglegence on the previous crew's part, there is nothing wrong with the ship.

if you do not wish to sail, well, my caben will still be more comfortable than standing about in the street." Jonothan was pleased, though he kept all outward evidance of this suppressed, maintaining a neutral expression and tone.
'perhaps' thought he 'just perhaps, this may not be a total disaster after all.'

"certainly, makeing such an arangement with your Government is within my power. with privet citizens... might take a little more creative thinking, but i'm fairly sure it can be done.

it might interest you to know that munitions and cannons arn't all we do well. our small and long arms are high quality too. if, for example, you wished to outfit a force of marines, milita, regular infantry or something more exotic.

our blades arn't exactly poor either. but come, come... better we talk of this somewhere other than a street corner, and i will ramble on. a bad habit of mine."

"Really. humm. I think his majesty would be most interested. Would you be willing to return with us and speak of it with him directly? ... most of the problems evident upon our arrival have been... fixed. Your fine city here has some new street sweepers or what have you, and our navy, such as it is, some few less fools. Your own countrymen will be crewing our ship this time, and save for negligence on the previous crew's part, there is nothing wrong with the ship.

"If you do not wish to sail, well, my caben will still be more comfortable than standing about in the street." Jonothan was pleased, though he kept all outward evidance of this suppressed, maintaining a neutral expression and tone.
'Perhaps' thought he, 'just perhaps, this may not be a total disaster after all.'

"Certainly, making such an arangement with your Government is within my power. With private citizens... might take a little more creative thinking, but I'm fairly sure it can be done.

It might interest you to know that munitions and cannons aren't all we do well. Our small and long arms are high quality too. If, for example, you wished to outfit a force of marines, milita, regular infantry or something more exotic.

Our blades arn't exactly poor either. But come, come... better we talk of this somewhere other than a street corner, and I will ramble on. A bad habit of mine."
OOC: Edited Anger's post for spelling and punctuation :P

IC: "Hmm... I'm not sure if I can travel to central Angermanland at the moment; however, I'm sure I can find a company representative to travel with you. In the meantime, I would be willing to talk this over in your cabin."

ooc: i should so say at this point "they went to the cabin" .. but that would be bad RP, and so i give you this instead:

IC: upon arriving abord the ship, Jonothan introduced the merchant to Brinden

"Admiral Brinden, it gives me some pleasure to present one William Stiles, apparantly a merchant or trader of some sort here abouts. also possibly our last chance to salvage this disaster and get you your ships."

"humm. if he's neither a fool nor an idiot, i'm pleased to meet him" Brinden responded, then turned to Stiles "if you're either, i'd suggest you tell me now so i can throw you off the ship and have done with it rather than wasting time." in considerably better humour than he had been when dealing with the Caladonnian officials, however, he continued "though given that you are here, i find neither particularly likely. come, i have some excilant ginger beer in my cabin. i doubt you've tasted the like unless you've been to Angermanland it's self before. it's not really exported.

we shall discuss matters in some comfort."

with that, the men went bellow to the captain's caben, easily the most spacious area within the ship save the main deck it's self. not that it was particularly impressive. a bed, a desk, and some remarkably comfortable looking chairs, all bolted to the deck, were the sum total of the furnishings

"have a seat sir. tell us of what you propose" Jonothan spoke, as he and the admiral took their own seats.

OOC: That works well...

I won't quote and fix mistakes, cause that'd take too long, so getting right to the point...

IC: Mr. Stiles had heard... things... about the Angerman admiral, but he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He greeted him, and followed the Angermen to the cabin.

Upon beinng proffered some gingerbeer, Stiles gratefully accepted... he had exotic culinary tastes, being a trader who often ventured to the Continent, but this was one delicacy unknown to him.

Stiles took a seat, and explained himself. "Well sirs, to cut to the chase, I am interested in a business deal between myself and Angermanland. I can speak at least for the Stiles & Sons Trading Consortium, but I believe a few of my colleagues at the Merchants' Guild will follow my lead."

the ginger beer was fizzy, sweet, cool, and Burnt on the way down if one did more than sip. on the other hand, there was not the tinyest portion of alchole in it.

"well, appart from the diplomatic element... in the area of trade in materials and the like, our situation is simple. we have superior weapons of all sorts. we need ships that arn't horribly out of date. of course, we need better sailors too, but that's a different issue. besides which, most arn't as bad as those that came with us, and the improved ships would help a lot.

also timber would be useful for any number of things. we have enough to maintain our situation, but no spare for expansion or growth. we have silver from our southern mines which would be of use for that, so long as they remain under our control. they are close enough to the borders that everyone worrys about that.

a relaxing of taxes on imports and exports for the partys involved is not out of the question either. origionaly this was to be for Caladonn in it's entirity, but if it is only for your consortium, so be it.

what say you to that?"

the ginger beer was fizzy, sweet, cool, and Burnt on the way down if one did more than sip. on the other hand, there was not the tinyest portion of alchole in it.

"well, appart from the diplomatic element... in the area of trade in materials and the like, our situation is simple. we have superior weapons of all sorts. we need ships that arn't horribly out of date. of course, we need better sailors too, but that's a different issue. besides which, most arn't as bad as those that came with us, and the improved ships would help a lot.

also timber would be useful for any number of things. we have enough to maintain our situation, but no spare for expansion or growth. we have silver from our southern mines which would be of use for that, so long as they remain under our control. they are close enough to the borders that everyone worrys about that.

a relaxing of taxes on imports and exports for the partys involved is not out of the question either. origionaly this was to be for Caladonn in it's entirity, but if it is only for your consortium, so be it.

what say you to that?"
Stiles, unknowing, had downed a gulp, and shuddered, but was able to rapidly regain his composure.

"Er... yes, my Consortium has both Shipbuilding and Timber enterprises, and weaponry would be most welcome in exchange for such implements. I am sure that we can make the government see the error in their ways when I can sell them superior weapons in exchange for their cooperation."

"very well. draw up the relivant papers, or speak to the relivant people. given current relations we can't be staying here too long unless things are smoothed over... say, two days?" Jonothan looked to Brinden for conformation.

"aye. two hours past noon two days from now. we shall leave then, reguardless. so, if you have any envoys or messeges or the like, they'll need to be here 'fore then."

"very well. draw up the relivant papers, or speak to the relivant people. given current relations we can't be staying here too long unless things are smoothed over... say, two days?" Jonothan looked to Brinden for conformation.

"aye. two hours past noon two days from now. we shall leave then, reguardless. so, if you have any envoys or messeges or the like, they'll need to be here 'fore then."
In the next two days, the Consortium was able to recieve tacit support from the government for the trading to take place. It was not strictly needed, but such a move would make things easier.

After that was dealt with, Stiles contacted the Angermen once again, giving them the go-ahead.

The Imperial fleet came over the horizon, greeted with astonishment by the people of the Isle of Man. When signals were raised to the effect that the Isle had now become the territory of Caladonn, there were mixed reactions.

The Isle of Man had long been a free port; it benefited from being outside the conflicts of Britain, but simultaneously was hurt by the tariffs of neighboring nations. The prospect of losing independence was exciting for the traders, who saw increased mercantile profits with Caladonn, Incognitia and possibly even Frozopia or Angermanland, while others were either ambivalent or opposed to the annexation on principle, and because it might draw the Isle of Man into war.

However, the message was uncompromising- in a show of force, 15,000 Caladonnian marines paraded through the land. However, the Caladonnians' message was much more peaceful. The marines were simply stopping by on their way to Incognitia; as for worries of war, the Caladonnian navy quickly dispelled such fears. Nevertheless, many grumblings remained from those who resented Caladonn's influences, and thus a marine garrison was chosen to remain on the island.

However, a democratic process to link the Isle up with the mainland of Caladonn was started soon after. This produced mixed results; all were happy with their newfound freedoms, but the agitators resolved to use their political power to speak out against Caladonnian domination in the Senate. Thus, the Isle of Man will remain both a boon and a thorn in the side of Caladonn in the future.

However, for now, the majority of the marines departed, to rendezvous with the Incognitians.